Home Business in Idaho (2026)

Running a business from home in Caldwell requires a home occupation permit from the Planning and Zoning Department…

Ada County caps home occupations at 25% of a dwelling's total floor area or 1,000 square feet, whichever is less, and…

Boise caps home businesses at 500 sq ft and no outside employees before a Zoning Compliance Review is required.

In the A-1 Agricultural Zone, Bonneville County caps a home occupation's accessory building at 1,000 square feet on…

Canyon County Code § 07-14-11 lets residents run a home business in unincorporated Canyon County, Idaho only if the use…

Kootenai County lets you run a home occupation only within strict limits: it must be run by a resident family member…

Meridian allows home-based businesses as an accessory use in every residential zoning district, but operators must get…

Nampa allows home occupations in residential zones by right if they meet size, signage, employee, and traffic…

Nampa limits home occupation signage to a single nameplate of two square feet or less, and the sign cannot be…

A home occupation sign in unincorporated Ada County follows Ada County Code 8-3-12(G): the lesser of 64 square feet or…

Boise allows only one small, non-illuminated wall sign for a home-based business, capped at two square feet and mounted…

Home occupation signs in Bonneville County's residence zones are capped at one and one-half square feet, must be a…

Caldwell allows one home occupation sign per dwelling unit once the city has issued a home occupation permit for the…

The county Land Use Code sharply limits residential signs. A name-only sign is allowed in any zone, but a sign carrying…

Meridian lets home occupations post one on-site sign, capped at six square feet, nonilluminated and permit-free, under…

Canyon County Code § 07-14-11(6) caps a home business sign in unincorporated Canyon County, Idaho at four square feet…

Ada County splits home occupations into two tiers, and customer traffic is where they diverge sharply. A small home…

Boise caps home-business deliveries at two per day, limits instructional classes to one student at a time, and bans any…

A home occupation with visiting clients in Bonneville County's A-1 Agricultural Zone may only conduct that…

Caldwell caps the vehicle and delivery traffic a home business can generate. Under City Code § 10-12-03-22(4), supply…

Meridian restricts home occupation client, customer, and employee visits to between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. citywide…

Nampa home occupations may host clients by appointment only, one at a time; group instruction like music or swimming…

Idaho replaced its cottage-food chapter outright in 2026. Senate Bill 1283, chapter 91 of the 2026 session laws, added…

Idaho requires no cottage-food license, permit, or registration. You may make non-potentially-hazardous foods in your…

Idaho lets home cottage-food operations sell non-perishable (non-TCS) foods like baked goods, jams, and honey directly…

Idaho has no microenterprise home kitchen permit and cannot issue one, because the Idaho Food Code flatly bars the…

Idaho Code Title 39 Chapter 11 sets statewide daycare licensing requirements based on the number of unrelated children…

Bonneville County requires anyone operating a daycare home for one to five children for pay to obtain a county license…

Idaho defines a family daycare home as caring for six or fewer children, a group daycare facility for 7-12, and a…

Boise allows a home daycare for up to six children by-right, and seven to twelve with a Zoning Compliance Review, under…

Caldwell caps in-home daycares at twelve children including the provider's own, requires state licensure filed with…

Unincorporated Canyon County's zoning code splits home-based childcare into three size tiers at § 07-02-03: a Family…

Idaho Falls' building code lets a home daycare with twelve or fewer children keep its ordinary residential…

A small in-home daycare typically operates as a home occupation under the county Land Use Code, while a larger…

Family child care for six or fewer kids counts as a home occupation accessory use in Meridian and needs a city…

Nampa allows in-home daycare for up to 6 children by right in residential zones; caring for 7 to 12 children needs a…